Chapter 12: The Account in My Stepsister's Name
Kayla was sitting on the living room sofa when we returned home.
She looked up as Dad entered.
“Where were you?””
He placed the documents on the coffee table.
“Kayla, I need you to answer something honestly.””
Her eyes moved toward the papers.
“What?””
“Do you have a bank account ending in 9042?””
Her face changed.
Vanessa appeared at the top of the staircase.
“Michael, don't interrogate her.””
Dad didn't look up.
“I'm asking my daughter a question.””
Kayla swallowed.
“Yes.””
I felt my stomach drop.
“Why?””
She looked at me.
“I don't know.””
Dad pulled out a chair.
“Who opened it?””
“Mom.””
“Who puts money into it?””
Kayla began twisting her fingers.
“Mom said it was for college.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Kayla, do you have access to the account?””
She nodded.
“Through an app.””
“Have you ever withdrawn money?””
“No.””
“Have you received statements?””
“Mom handles everything.””
Vanessa came down the stairs.
“That's enough. You're frightening her.””
Daniel remained calm.
“Mrs. Williams, this account appears in records connected to Emily's inheritance. We need to establish whether any of the transferred funds entered it.””
Vanessa laughed nervously.
“That's absurd.””
Daniel placed a document on the table.
“Then you shouldn't have any difficulty explaining these transactions.””
He turned the page toward her.
There were six deposits over eighteen months.
The combined amount was one hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars.
Kayla stared at the numbers.
“Mom?””
Vanessa's expression hardened.
“Those were gifts.””
“From whom?”” Dad asked.
“Family.””
“Which family member?””
She looked away.
My father picked up the statement.
“The first transfer came from Emily's trust.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“No. You're reading it incorrectly.””
Daniel pointed to the transaction reference.
“It's clearly identified.””
Kayla started crying.
“You told me Grandma gave me that money.””
Vanessa turned toward her.
“Kayla, stop.””
“You said it was from Grandma!””
“I said what I needed to say to protect you.””
Kayla stood.
“Protect me from what?””
Vanessa reached for her.
“Sit down.””
“No!””
Kayla stepped backward.
“Did you steal Emily's money and put it in my account?””
Nobody spoke.
Then Vanessa said quietly, “I was making sure you had something of your own.””
I stared at her.
“You used my mother's money to make your daughter feel rich?””
Vanessa turned toward me.
“You had enough! You had your father, your mother's inheritance, everything!””
I felt tears of anger rise.
“I had a mother who died. I didn't have everything.””
My father stood between us.
“Vanessa, this ends now.””
She looked at him.
“You're going to destroy this family over money?””
“No. You did that when you decided Emily didn't deserve the truth.””
Kayla sank back onto the sofa.
“I didn't know.””
I looked at her.
“Then help us find out what happened.””
She nodded slowly.
Daniel explained that the bank records would need to be secured and reviewed independently. Kayla agreed to provide access to the account information through the proper legal process.
Vanessa refused to cooperate.
Instead, she picked up her handbag.
“I'm leaving.””
Dad looked at her.
“You're not taking anything from this house.””
She laughed.
“You can't keep me here.””
“I'm not trying to. But you need to understand that Daniel is handling this now.””
Vanessa walked toward the front door.
Then she stopped and turned around.
“You think you've won, Emily?””
I stared at her.
“No. I think I've finally stopped losing.””
Her face tightened.
She left without another word.
For several minutes, nobody moved.
Kayla sat with her head in her hands.
Noah came downstairs carrying a glass of water.
He placed it beside her.
“Here.””
She looked at him.
“Thanks.””
Then he sat beside me.
“Emily?””
“Yeah?””
“Can I tell you something?””
I turned toward him.
He hesitated.
“I saw Mom—Vanessa—put something in Kayla's school bag last week.””
Kayla raised her head.
“What?””
Noah nodded.
“She said it was important and told you not to open it.””
Kayla frowned.
“I thought it was my homework.””
“Where is the bag?”” Dad asked.
Kayla pointed toward the hallway.
“In my bedroom.””
Dad went upstairs with her.
A few minutes later, they returned carrying a pink backpack.
Kayla opened it.
Inside were notebooks, pens, and a small black envelope.
Daniel asked everyone to leave the envelope untouched while he examined it.
He carefully opened it.
Inside was a bank card, a printed account statement, and a folded piece of paper.
The statement showed another account.
This one had received a transfer of two hundred thousand dollars.
The money had come from a company associated with Peter.
Daniel looked at the account holder.
Then he looked at my father.
“Michael, I think we've found where the remaining funds went.””
Dad stared at the paper.
“Whose account?””
Daniel turned it around.
The account belonged to Linda Williams.
Vanessa's sister.
But the most disturbing detail was written beneath the account information.
*Beneficiary: Emily Sarah Williams.*
I stared.
“Why is my name on it?””
Daniel examined the document.
“Someone appears to have created an account using your personal information.””
Dad picked up the bank card.
There was a date printed on the back.
It had been issued only four months earlier.
I looked at Kayla.
“Did you know about this?””
She shook her head.
“No. I've never seen that card.””
Daniel placed everything back inside the envelope.
“We need to investigate this immediately.””
My father looked furious.
“Can they just open accounts in her name?””
“Not without authorization. That's precisely why we need to determine who submitted the application.””
I looked at the printed statement again.
There was a signature at the bottom.
It wasn't mine.
It wasn't Dad's.
It was Vanessa's.
But underneath her signature was a second name.
*Jonathan Reed.*
My biological father.
I looked at Daniel.
“How can a dead man authorize an account?””
Daniel's expression changed.
He examined the document carefully.
Then he whispered:
“Emily, I don't think this is an ordinary account application.””
He turned the paper over.
On the reverse was a scanned copy of an old legal document.
It contained Jonathan's signature, a witness's name, and a date from before I was born.
Daniel stared at it for several seconds.
Then he looked at me.
“Your biological father may have left you something far more important than money.””
He pointed to the final paragraph.
It stated that Jonathan had appointed someone to act on behalf of his estate.
Someone who was still alive.
Someone who had been receiving correspondence about me for sixteen years.
Dad leaned closer.
“Who?””
Daniel slowly read the name.
*Eleanor Reed.*
Then he added:
“She's been trying to contact Emily's family for years.””
I felt my heart begin racing.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?””
Daniel looked at my father.
“Because according to the latest correspondence, someone has been intercepting her letters.””
Dad's face went pale.
He looked toward the front door Vanessa had just walked through.
May you like
And for the first time, I realized that my stepmother might not have simply stolen my inheritance.
She might have spent sixteen years making sure I never discovered that another family had been searching for me.
